Secret Admirer
by Lady Azura
Summary: Adam has a secret admirer. But who could it be?


Summary: _Adam has a secret admirer. But who could it be?_

Disclaimer: Don't own _Degrassi_. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: I blame Friday's episode.

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**Secret Admirer****  
**_**By: Lady Azura**_

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_30... 29... 28... 27... 26..._

Adam stared at the clock with bated breath, watching the second hand draw closer and closer to its destination. In the background, he could hear Mr. Perino reminding everyone about their upcoming assignment, but he didn't care. He'd already finished his, and had nothing to worry about, and so he continued to stare intently at the clock, counting down the seconds.

_5... 4... 3... 2..._

At last, noon struck and the lunch bell sounded. Adam practically leapt out of his seat, shouldering his bag as he made a beeline for the door. He narrowly avoided crashing into a group of freshmen as he made his way to his locker, his stomach rumbling all the while. He was starving and had only had an apple to tide him over, and now he was dying for a basket of fries.

When he opened his locker to put his books away however, a piece of paper fell out, landing at his feet. Furrowing his brow, Adam picked it up and quickly unfolded it before skimming over its contents.

_**Your eyes are like twinkling stars…**_

Another one.

It was the fifth one he'd gotten in the last couple of weeks. A part of him wanted to be flattered, thrilled even, that someone could actually be interested in him. But an even bigger part, the logical part, knew just how cruel the kids at Degrassi could be. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a prank. He sighed, crumbling up the note and tossing it into the recycling bin.

"Bad grade?" A familiar voice chimed from behind him, and Adam spun around to be met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Oh, hey Clare." He said, closing his locker. "No… just another letter."

"From your _secret admirer_?" Clare teased.

Adam rolled his eyes.

"No, from some jackass who wants me to get my hopes up." He said.

Clare gave him a sympathetic smile.

"How do you know it's someone pulling your leg?" She asked. "Maybe it's for real."

Adam sighed. "My history with women tells me otherwise."

"So you've had some bad experiences…" Clare started.

"_Three_. Last year alone." Adam reminded her. "Two of them ended up with my brother, and one of them turned out to be a lesbian."

Clare pursed her lips together. "Okay, so they haven't been the _best_ experiences… but if its any consolation, at least you didn't almost have sex with _your_ brother."

"Yeah, that would make dinners pretty awkward." Adam said with a smirk. "How's that going for you, anyway? The whole brother-sister thing with Jake?"

"Well, now that I've moved on from our break up… living with him has gotten a lot easier." Clare admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I think he's glad to be on the dating market again, and hey, I've got a cover if I ever decide to sneak out."

Adam laughed. "_If_."

"If." Clare repeated, smirking playfully. "But my short-lived rebellious days are officially over. I'm just trying to… get everything back to normal now."

"Good luck with that. You're a magnet for drama." Adam teased.

"So are you." Clare countered.

"Touché." He said with a chuckle. "But _I_ at least have an unfortunate excuse. _You_ just have bad taste in guys."

"One of those guys is our friend." Clare reminded him.

"And _he'd_ agree." Adam said. "Now, let's get food some food. I'm hungry."

He started for the cafeteria, only to stop when he realized she wasn't following. He glanced over his shoulder. "Aren't you coming?"

"I'll catch up with you in a minute. Save me a spot in line." Clare said, before disappearing in the opposite direction.

Adam shrugged and continued on his way.

.

.

.

_**Meet me in the Boiler Room after school.**_

Adam raised a questioning brow as he read the note. After he'd come back from lunch, he'd found it taped to his locker in an envelope.

"The _Boiler Room_?" Clare said disbelievingly as she read over his shoulder. There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Think it might be Bianca?"

Adam shook his head.

"No, her boiler room days are over." Adam replied. "Besides, she still has feelings for Drew."

He folded the note and slid it into his back pocket. Clare gave him a pointed look.

"Are you really going to meet them?" She asked.

"Yep." Adam answered simply. "And you're coming with me."

.

.

.

Thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes had gone by, and no one had shown up. It was just as he'd expected, Adam mused sadly, as he and Clare sat at the bottom of the stairs leading into the Boiler Room. Clare stared off into space, twirling a curl around her finger absentmindedly as they waited. With a defeated sigh, Adam stood up, snapping Clare out of her reverie and causing her to look up questioningly.

"I knew it was just a prank." He muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Adam…" Clare said, pity etched across her face.

Adam shook his head.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for it." He glared at his feet. "I'm such an idiot. What girl would ever want me?"

"Adam, no…" Clare stood up abruptly. "That's not true. You're a wonderful guy and any girl would be lucky to have you."

"Whatever." Adam sighed. He knew she was just saying that to make him feel better, and while he appreciated her effort, he was too angry at himself. Angry for once again being at the receiving end of someone's prejudice.

"It's true!" Clare insisted, grabbing his wrists and squeezing them reassuringly. "What if they just chickened out at the last minute? Or maybe -"

"Clare, stop." Adam cut her off. "I know what you're trying to do."

Clare fell silent, dropping her gaze.

Pulling his hands back, he turned away from her. "Let's just go."

He began making his way up the steps, but came to a halt when he noticed that Clare hadn't budged. He furrowed his brow and walked back down, nudging her in the shoulder.

"Clare?"

Before he could react, Clare's arms were around his neck and her lips were against his. Adam froze, his mind reeling with shock as Clare Edwards of _all_ people kissed him. Against his better judgement, he didn't push her back and instead, as the shock slowly wore off, his hands found her waist and he kissed her back.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't find her attractive. Clare was a very pretty girl, and she was one of the first people to ever accept him. She'd always been off limits, though. But now, here she was, kissing him. Why, he didn't know, and at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care as he lost himself in the feeling of her soft lips touching his. He could smell her perfume; it was sweet and tickled his nostrils and made his head spin. Closing his eyes, he cupped her face and deepened the kiss slightly, running his tongue over her bottom lip, testing the waters.

Clare hummed in the back of her throat, tangling her fingers in his hair and opening her mouth to him. His knees threatened to buckle as their tongues met, and as if reading his mind, Clare sank to the floor, bringing him with her. The Boiler Room wasn't the most comfortable place to be making out in; it was dank and grimy and smelled weird, but neither teen paid much heed to their surroundings as they lost themselves in each other.

When Clare's dainty fingers began to tug at his polo however, alarms went off in Adam's head and he reluctantly broke the kiss. Clare's eyes flickered open and met his. Their lips were swollen and their cheeks were flushed, and he was sure that his hair probably looked like a bird's nest.

Clare sat up, resting her back against the wall behind her.

"Wow," she breathed, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" Adam agreed, licking his lips. He then frowned. "Why did you do that?"

Clare gave him a sheepish smile.

"Because… I was the one that sent those letters." She confessed, a faint blush creeping over her face.

Adam stared at her in disbelief.

"Why?" Was all he could manage.

"Because… I like you." Clare said softly.

Adam opened his mouth, then closed it, at a loss for words.

"I don't know when it happened. We've been hanging out more and I guess it just kind of… happened." Clare told him. She lifted her gaze to meet his. "If you don't like me back, I completely understand -"

"No," Adam cut her off. "It's not that. This is just… _a lot_ to take in at once."

Clare nodded in understanding.

After a few minutes, Adam found his voice again.

"But really, Clare… the _Boiler Room_?"

"It was the only place I could think of!"

Adam laughed, before leaning over and kissing her again.

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**FIN**

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**So… Friday's episode was filled with Cladam cuteness and I couldn't resist. I had to write something, and here it is.**

** I hope you enjoyed!**

** Please ****REVIEW**** and let me know what you think!**


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